© Unsplash/David von Diemar
The battery is one of the essential components of an electric car. And as far as Tesla is concerned, it has set itself the objective of reducing the cost of producing batteries by 50%. This plan, announced in 2020, is based in part on a new design of cells called 4680. And this week, the manufacturer announced on 20 million 4680 cells at the Texas Gigafactory.
Just built our 20 millionth 4680 cell at Giga Texas! pic.twitter.com/6PCD6UC9PS
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 11, 2023
Besides the fact that this is a symbolic threshold, the announcement gives us a precise idea of the pace of production. Indeed, in June, Tesla had 10 million 4680 cells produced in Texas. According to the Elektrek website, it took Tesla 16 weeks to produce 10 million. This corresponds to a rate of 625,000 cells per week, but it is possible that by the time you read this article, this rate has already accelerated.
Otherwise, the announcement also gives us an idea of the number of vehicles that Tesla could equip with these 4680 cell batteries. At the current rate, the manufacturer could equip 1,200 vehicles per week with 4680 cell batteries with a capacity of 65 kWh. On the other hand, this figure should be revised for the Cybertruck, as this pick-up will have a larger battery.
- In 2020, Tesla presented a plan to significantly reduce the cost of batteries and 4680 cells are part of this plan
- This week, the manufacturer announced that it had exceeded 20 million 4680 cells manufactured at the Texas Gigafactory
- Tesla would today be capable of producing 625,000 cells of this type per week
[ ]